How to Guide to Improving Air Quality and Energy Efficiency in Your Home - By: Beverly Saltonstall

It is an easy task to improve the indoor air quality of your home while improving its energy efficiency at the same time. Knowing some basic steps is all you need to get started.

Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency by Eliminating Drafts

The first order of business is to eliminate as many drafts as possible. This will limit the quantity of airborne allergens that can enter your home from outside. Draft prevention can improve air quality inside our homes, and has the added benefit of improving the energy efficienc of our heating and cooling systems. Much of your high energy costs is due to loss of heat in the winter and in the summer, the loss of air conditioning,generates higher energy bills and it wastes your money and our natural resources.

Reducing drafts helps reduce the outside irritants and toxic particles that can be found suspended in outdoor air and have less chance of getting into your home.

Air Circulation Improves Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency

Circulating the air inside becomes very important as it allows the air to move around and the rooms will not become stuffy, stale and full of odors. Using an air conditioner to control the humidity in your home will also reduce or eliminate humidity and reduce the need for a dehumidifier which is very expensive to operate.

Create a Save Haven in Your Home

Your ability to control your indoor air quality and energy efficiency will allow you to create a safe haven in your home, This will help protected from airborne microbes such as small pox, anthrax, botulism, toxic gas, and radio active particle that can be released by terrorists or by accident.

Improve Air Quality and Energy Efficiency by Leakage Testing

A simple air leakage test is your first step you need to do to improve your indoor air quality and energy efficiency. All that is needed is a fan set up near an outer doorway. After placing the fan in the outer doorway, you will observe that eh amount of air that flows through the fan is equal to the air that is flowing through any leaks in the outer shell of the building.

If you use white smoke while you perform the leakage test, you will see openings in windows or door that are allowing your air conditioning and heating to escape or toxins to enter. Mold spores, dust, insects and pollen enter the home through these cracks.

Most people are aware of the fact that older homes are often drafty due to multiple leaks, but believe it or not, newly constructed homes can also have air leaks. It is estimated that new homes can have upwards of 300 square inches of air openings in the outer shell. If you have a ducted air circulation system in your home, these openings can create a significant level of pressure inside the home that will drive air through these openings. So just because you have a new home, that doesn't mean you are free of these leakage problems.

Conclusion

One final caveat. If you are planning on sealing up your home to improve the air quality and energy efficiency of your home, you must think about reducing the amount of chemicals that you use. More and more studies are showing that the air quality within our homes is often worse than the air we breathe outside. Carpeting that gives off toxic fumes, cleaning products, personal care products and electronic equipment are only a few of the products that we use indoors that is contributing to "sick house syndrome". So before you tackle the job of improving your air quality and energy efficiency, use more natural products in your home to keep you and your family safe.

As air quality is becoming more and more of an issue, improving the air quality of our homes becomes very important. As the costs of energy rises and becomes more scarce, improving the energy efficiency of your home has its benefits. You may be eligible for home energy tax credits which saves saves you money and it also saves our precious natural resources.

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Beverly Saltonstall is an environmental writer who offers timely
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